History of France | Page 6

of the people; and at the
universities--especially that of Paris--a great advance both in thought
and learning was made. Louis IX.'s confessor, Henry de Sorbonne,
founded, for the study of divinity, the college which was known by his
name, and whose decisions were afterwards received as of paramount
authority.
9. The Parliament of Paris.--France had a wise ruler in Blanche, and a
still better one in her son, _Louis IX._, who is better known as _St.
Louis_, and who was a really good and great man. He was the first to
establish the Parliament of Paris--a court consisting of the great feudal
vassals, lay and ecclesiastical, who held of the king direct, and who had
to try all causes. They much disliked giving such attendance, and a
certain number of men trained to the law were added to them to guide
the decisions. The Parliament was thus only a court of justice and an
office for registering wills and edicts. The representative assembly of
France was called the States-General, and consisted of all estates of the
realm, but was only summoned in time of emergency. Louis IX. was
the first king to bring nobles of the highest rank to submit to the
judgment of Parliament when guilty of a crime. Enguerrand de Coucy,
one of the proudest nobles of France, who had hung two Flemish
youths for killing a rabbit, was sentenced to death. The penalty was

commuted, but the principle was established. Louis's uprightness and
wisdom gained him honour and love everywhere, and he was always
remembered as sitting under the great oak at Vincennes, doing equal
justice to rich and poor. Louis was equally upright in his dealings with
foreign powers. He would not take advantage of the weakness of Henry
III. of England to attack his lands in Guienne, though he maintained the
right of France to Normandy as having been forfeited by King John. So
much was he respected that he was called in to judge between Henry
and his barons, respecting the oaths exacted from the king by the Mad
Parliament. His decision in favour of Henry was probably an honest
one; but he was misled by the very different relations of the French and
English kings to their nobles, who in France maintained lawlessness
and violence, while in England they were struggling for law and order.
Throughout the struggles between the Popes and the Emperor Frederick
II., Louis would not be induced to assist in a persecution of the
Emperor which he considered unjust, nor permit one of his sons to
accept the kingdom of Apulia and Sicily, when the Pope declared that
Frederick had forfeited it. He could not, however, prevent his brother
Charles, Count of Anjou, from accepting it; for Charles had married
Beatrice, heiress of the imperial fief of Provence, and being thus
independent of his brother Louis, was able to establish a branch of the
French royal family on the throne at Naples. The reign of St. Louis was
a time of much progress and improvement. There were great scholars
and thinkers at all the universities. Romance and poetry were
flourishing, and influencing people's habits, so that courtesy, _i.e._ the
manners taught in castle courts, was softening the demeanour of
knights and nobles. Architecture was at its most beautiful period, as is
seen, above all, in the Sainte Chapelle at Paris. This was built by Louis
IX. to receive a gift of the Greek Emperor, namely, a thorn, which was
believed to be from the crown of thorns. It is one of the most perfect
buildings in existence.
10. Crusade of Louis IX.--Unfortunately, Louis, during a severe illness,
made a vow to go on a crusade. His first fulfilment of this vow was
made early in his reign, in 1250, when his mother was still alive to
undertake the regency. His attempt was to attack the heart of the
Saracen power in Egypt, and he effected a landing and took the city of

Damietta. There he left his queen, and advanced on Cairo; but near
Mansourah he found himself entangled in the canals of the Nile, and
with a great army of Mamelukes in front. A ford was found, and the
English Earl of Salisbury, who had brought a troop to join the crusade,
advised that the first to cross should wait and guard the passage of the
next. But the king's brother, Robert, Count of Artois, called this
cowardice. The earl was stung, and declared he would be as forward
among the foe as any Frenchman. They both charged headlong, were
enclosed by the enemy, and slain; and though the king at last put the
Mamelukes to flight, his loss was dreadful. The Nile rose and cut off
his return. He lost great part of his troops from sickness, and was